Rider

panther k


From cincinnati oh


Commutes 14 Miles RoundTrip for 3 years and months
Four or Three Days a week, I am a bike commuter Year Round

My commute routes suck due to hills, drivers and thieves (oh, my). This is biking reality in Cincy. Thus few people bike here, cuz they get robbed or intimidated by the drivers. It makes for a lonely commute. Not only this, it's assumed that all bike commuters are crazy here. I bike defensively, so I'm still alive. I bring a carbon fiber cored, aluminum 7050 tee-ball bat ($11 at Kmart) along with me. This helps, ha, ha! I got the idea when I was taking a Cleveland messenger's advise of toting a pool cue, mounted to the frame with little 'C's of cut PVC pipe. I picked up the bat, and noticed that it was lighter than a pool cue and much stronger. I checked the materials data on the label. I have sheathed in a bent water cagemounted on a cheap be I can't get health care

My commute routes suck due to hills, drivers and thieves (oh, my). This is biking reality in Cincy. Thus few people bike here, cuz they get robbed or intimidated by the drivers. It makes for a lonely commute. Not only this, it's assumed that all bike commuters are crazy here. I bike defensively, so I'm still alive. I bring a carbon fiber cored, aluminum 7050 tee-ball bat ($11 at Kmart) along with me. This helps, ha, ha! I got the idea when I was taking a Cleveland messenger's advise of toting a pool cue, mounted to the frame with little 'C's of cut PVC pipe. I picked up the bat, and noticed that it was lighter than a pool cue and much stronger. I checked the materials data on the label. Being impressed by the aluminum strength rating, I decided to buy it. (you can check strength rating of various bike type materials at http://www.matweb.com/GetIndex2.asp) Oh, and it is a useful tool indeed. All the sudden, viscious, arrogant drivers, try to hide their malice for fear you will bash them. The bat being wielded behind your back, at windshield range, does wonders to dissuade tailgating maniacs. If you are going too fast too stop when some asshole is making a turn across your path, you can do an Aikido-esque manuever; you swerve into the attack (on the right side of the vehicle). This clears your tail out of the way quicker. Incidentally, this puts you in perfect position for a strike at the driver's side window. I don't strike, but like in Aikido class, I hold the weapon poised in a position which could be 'fatal' if the attacker persists. It's Aikidoish in the sense that you 'step off the line of attack' & enter into the attack. E-mail me if you want to help write a web page for creative defensive cycling. This would be for all bicyclists. Aikido or anything which increases you adeptness at handling a staff type weapon are highly recommoned. My bikebat sheaths in and out easily in the cheap bendible water cage I duct taped to the base of my down tube. The length of the T-ball bat, for my bike , perfectly positions the knob so it goes right in front of my headset. Measure the bat and the downtube and decide if it will interfere with turning before you buy the bat!!!!!!!!

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